The growth of the wireless industry in the United States can be traced to the introduction of cellular service in the mid-1980's. The increase in mounting sites for wireless antennas is evidenced by the fact that in January 1985, there were only about 346 whereas in July 2000, there are approximately 82,000.
Wireless communication carriers use various structures to support their communication antennas at installation sites, for example, steel poles or towers. Steel poles are an aesthetic and increasingly popular self-standing structure utilized to support antennas for the wireless industry.
Steel poles designed, fabricated, and installed from 1985 through approximately 1996 were designed for singular usage, that is, each wireless carrier specified and purchased poles only capable of supporting their own antennas. However, as the wireless industry continued to grow through the addition of personal communications services (PCS) due to the auctioning of radio spectrum by the Federal Communications Commission in 1994, the demand for viable wireless sites exploded. Both cellular and PCS wireless service providers were competing for the ability to provide service to the public.
The public's perception and desire to stop pole and tower proliferation, strict zoning requirements, and competition for installation sites forced carriers to consider a new approach: co-location. Co-location is defined as having multiple carriers ‘co-locate’ or share, the same pole or tower. During 1997 and 1998, the wireless carriers began specifying and purchasing poles designed to provide multiple positions for installing wireless antennas. The carrier that purchased the pole would utilize one of the positions on the pole and the remaining positions would be leased to their competition in that area. Typically, at that time, poles would be designed for two to three carriers. However, as the industry continued to grow into the late 1990's, build-to-suit (BTS) companies began to have a presence in the wireless market place. BTS companies were not licensed wireless providers. Rather, they would own and operate the structures for the wireless carriers, in essence, acting as a landlord of the structures. As a result, the pressure to support additional wireless providers (co-locators) on existing structures continued to grow as the BTS companies strived to yield a return on their investment. In 2000, Lehman Brothers predicted build-to-suit tower requirements for co-location would increase from five wireless carriers per tower to seven wireless carriers per tower.
One problem facing the wireless industry in the face of increasing competition and public opposition to new wireless site construction is thousands of out-dated steel poles under-designed for the present needs of the industry. In other words, the industry must find a way to modify or retrofit thousands of existing steel poles from single or two carrier poles to poles capable of withstanding five to seven carriers.
Another problem that may arise is that poles might be manufactured with the expectation of supporting a set number of antennas but prior to installation, the number of antennas needed or desired for installation on the pole has increased so that the pole can no longer be used. Unless an alternative installation site is found which requires no more than the original set number of antennas, the pole has been rendered useless.
Another problem arises when it is desired to replace communication antennas with larger antennas. The pole as originally constructed might not be capable of supporting the increased area. In the prior art, there are several U.S. patents which describe arrangements for reinforcing poles and reinforced poles.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 919,771 (Roberts) describes a pole including a central metal column, a base plate mounted on a concrete base, horizontal clamps and supporting rods or guys extending from the base plate through the clamps to a flange. The vertically extending supporting rods or guys are secured in the clamps between an annular rim and a securing ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,327,681 (Vanderveer) shows a pole reinforcement device including reinforcing members which are driven into the ground and clamping bands which clamp the reinforcing members to the pole.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,707,034 (Hetrick) shows a television mast stabilizer including a collar mounted around the mast and having a plurality of vertical elements that engage the mast to reinforce the mast.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,130 (Burtelson) shows an apparatus for reinforcing utility poles including a pair of collars mounted on the pole and having a splint therebetween which is driven into the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,718 (Knight) shows a pole reinforcement system including a curved member and mounting holes. The member is driven into the ground adjacent the pole to be retrofitted and then attached via the mounting holes to the pole.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,996 (McGinnis) shows an apparatus for retrofitting guy-wired towers and includes a plurality of vertical legs which are designed to be attached outward of the existing legs.
None of these patents provides a reliable reinforcement system for a pole which is easily assembled and versatile.